May 12, 2020
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has been riding high ever since the premiere of Netflix original Never Have I Ever and in spite of being the new girl on block, the emerging star knows which roles she can and cannot snag away.
The star of Mindy Kaling’s super-hit recent series, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, proved that she takes accurate representation quite seriously as she turned down the suggestion of her playing Ms. Marvel.
The upcoming Disney+ series is gearing up to introduce Kamala Khan -- a Muslim Jersey teen, with Pakistani roots -- and fans of Ramakrishnan have termed her perfect for the role.
However, the actor believes her playing the role of Ms. Marvel would be unfair to the Pakistani community.
"I've seen a couple of posts about that, but honestly, no. Kamala Khan is Pakistani and I'm Tamil,” she told ET’s Melicia Johnson.
“If there was a Tamil superhero, I wouldn't want to see a Pakistani girl playing [her]. I would say, 'Really? You couldn't find anybody who was Tamil?' So why would I want to do that to the Pakistani community? That wouldn't be fair.”
"Trust me, I'd love to be a superhero. I love Marvel so much,” she adds.
She already seems to have a substitute Marvel role in mind for herself: Deadpool’s adopted daughter.
"I could be the daughter of Deadpool or apprentice or something. Maybe Deadpool adopts a South Asian girl. It would make sense -- Ryan Reynolds and I would both make the Canadian jokes,” she said.
While Never Have I Ever has busted quite a lot of myths about South Asian culture since its premiere, Ramakrishnan wants others to take notes as well.
“Guys. An idea. A Disney princess that’s actually south Asian without stereotypes and a predictable plot line. She’s hella street smart, sarcastic and super badass. @DisneyAnimation your move,” she tweeted a week before the show’s launch.